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Melanotan-1 (Afamelanotide): What the Evidence Actually Shows

Grade A for one indicationGray market form not approved

The short version

  • Afamelanotide is an approved drug, marketed as Scenesse, for erythropoietic protoporphyria.
  • It is delivered as a subcutaneous implant under specialist supervision, not as a self-injected vial.
  • What is sold as "Melanotan-1" on the gray market is not Scenesse and has no relationship to it beyond the molecule name.
  • More selective than Melanotan-2, so fewer sexual and nausea effects.
  • Still carries the pigmentation and mole concerns that apply to this class.

The approved product, and why it is not what you are being offered

Afamelanotide is approved for erythropoietic protoporphyria, a rare genetic condition causing severe phototoxic pain on light exposure. For those patients it is genuinely valuable. It is administered as a controlled-release implant placed by a trained clinician, under a monitoring programme that includes regular skin examination.

A vial from a supplier list is a different product, made to a different standard, without the implant delivery, without the monitoring, and for a different purpose. The approval does not transfer.

Selectivity versus Melanotan-2

Melanotan-1 is more selective for MC1R, which is the pigmentation receptor, so it produces less of the nausea and sexual effects associated with Melanotan-2. That is a real difference and it is the honest argument in its favour.

What does not change

Systemic melanocyte stimulation acts on all melanocytes, including atypical ones. The monitoring built into the approved programme exists for a reason. Anyone using this outside that programme should have a dermatologist doing regular skin checks and should tell them what they are taking. See Melanotan-2.

Related

Full library · Safety and sourcing · Reconstitution calculator · The 2026 regulatory picture

Regulatory status current as of the page date. This area is changing quickly and this page is reviewed monthly.